Report: Wawa hit with lawsuits following data breach

Report: Wawa hit with lawsuits following data breach

At least six lawsuits have reportedly been filed in the wake of a data breach that exposed the credit and debit card information of Wawa customers.

The lawsuits allege that the retailer failed to adequately secure its computer systems from hackers who installed malware affecting potentially all of its stores, reported the Philadelphia Inquirer. The cyberattack went undetected for nearly nine months.

Wawa announced the data breach on Dec. 19, saying that a “data security incident” affected customer payment card information used at its stores between March 4 and Dec. 12, 2019. It is offering identity protection and credit monitoring services to customers at no charge. The retailer has also posted information on its website, including a letter from Wawa's CEO and more details for impacted customers.

“The data breach was the inevitable result of Wawa’s inadequate data security measures and cavalier approach to data security,” said the lawsuit filed by the law firm Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith, reported the Inquirer. “Victims of the data breach have had their sensitive card Information compromised, had their privacy rights violated, been exposed to the increased risk of fraud and identify theft, lost control over their personal and financial information, and otherwise have been injured.”